DARE TO ASK: Don't think twice, Pete, it's a'ight

By PHILLIP MILANO, The Times-Union

Question

Why do many white people, especially younger white suburbanites, copy black slang with no thought about it? I see surfers and such groups saying things like "Wuzzup big pimpin' " . . . to each other. What really bothers me is these same kids have little to no black friends.

Peter, 22, black, Jacksonville

Replies

It's fashionizzable, homey.

Ann, 39, white, Missouri

Hip-hop, R&B and other black music are all over the pop music charts and on TV videos.

Dennis, 28, black, New York

I'd like to know where black culture is "copywritten." There is this thing called "freedom of speech." Y'all can act, talk, dress any which way you feel is comfortable.

Angela, 26, white, Canada

It's just what's in right now. I don't understand it, either, but that's what people do: follow whatever's "in."

Reign, 19, black female, Illinois

I prefer to act my own race. I have many black friends, but we all agree that "acting black" is unacceptable and shows a person's lack of character.

Justin, 16, white, Louisville

Expert says

Is it really possible this nice young African-American fellow has actually run into these fine young surfer gentlemen he speaks of?

"I tell you this, I never met a black surfer," says Marz (born Zlatko Hukic), a white rapper who grew up in a rough part of Chicago and is formerly of Insane Clown Posse.

A'ight, just messin' with ya for a little bit. Let's be real.

To Marz, whose upcoming CD is MARZ Presents: Grind Music the Movement, it's not beyond the pale for whites to imitate black culture.

"Kids in the suburbs are definitely into hip-hop, whether they have black friends or not . . . if that's what moves a kid, who . . . is someone to say no you can't do it cuz you're white? Bruce Lee taught kung fu to white people, and would we say you can't do that, that people can't steal that culture? If it's benefiting someone, who cares what culture made it?"

For many whites, he said, the appeal of rap and hip-hop is the struggle.

"It's deeper than someone coasting through life. These kids in the mansions see people in the hood going through so much and trying to better themselves, and they see being poor can be the richest experience you can have . . . and it adds meaning to their own lives.

"That's why I haven't listened to rock in like 10 years: I can't relate to it anymore. They're usually well-off, but all they do is whine. Woe is me."

But what about using all that urban slang?

There's a fine line, Marz said.

"You can tell when someone's frontin'. . . . If you're not 'from there,' it doesn't work. There are definitely kids out there in a little midlife crisis, but you have to try things you are not to know what you are . . . eventually the people faking it will drop off, because you can't be fake for too long. It's too much work."

Phillip Milano, author of I Can't Believe You Asked That! (Perigee), moderates cross-cultural dialogue at Y? The National Forum on People's Differences. Visit www.yforum.com to submit questions and answers. Send general column comments to phillip. milano@jacksonville.com. You can also hear his podcasts or watch his TV spots.